Winter's Blossom
by Zerebos
Summary: Hisao finds himself in a relationship shortly before winter break. During the final week of class, his girlfriend suddenly asks him to come home with her for winter break.
1. Part 1

"So they'll just be working the whole time?" called out the voice across from me.

"Yeah, that's the norm," I jest while shrugging my shoulders. "Didn't I tell you that before?"

"Well yeah, but I didn't think it was _that_ bad..." Ikuno trails off sounding disheartened.

"It's really not that bad, I get to wander around the city and do nothing all day."

"Oh yeah, 'cause you don't do nothing enough as it is," Miki says next to me while jabbing her elbow into my side.

"Hey watch it now, he's ' _delicate_ '," jokes Taro which generates a chuckle from everyone at the lunch table.

I think I'm starting to regret telling everyone how I found out about my condition.

"Pshh it's not like I confessed to him or anything." Miki turns her attention to Ikuno who blushes and looks away.

Yup I regret it.

"C'mon guys, I survived the second one just fine!"

"That's cause you went first!" she exclaims. "I'm just glad _I'm_ not the one prone to heart flutters." Her face reddens even more. Several "oooo"s can be heard from the group. Ikuno shakes her head and continues talking. "But anyways, back to the point," Ikuno stands up from her seat points her finger at me and yells, "Hisao, you should come spend the break with me!"

A dead silence fills the cafeteria. Glancing around I see surprised faces at the surrounding tables.

"Meeting the parents already? Hisao, this must be pretty serious," jokes Taro breaking the awkward silence. Chuckles ring out from our table and tables nearby.

"Shuddup!" she chides as she shrinks back down in her chair realizing that all eyes nearby were on her.

"Well that was embarrassing," Miki says while snickering.

"I hate you all." Ikuno pouts in her chair puffing out her cheeks like a balloon.

Going to Ikuno's house for break? Although Taro did have a point, that could actually be pretty fun.

"Is that really okay?" Ikuno perks back up hearing my voice.

"It should be, I'll just call my parents and explain the situation to them. Plus it helps that my brother isn't coming home for break so we have an extra room."

"Well _my_ parents should be okay with it," I try not to come off as too eager, "I'll have to think about it, but I don't see why not!"

"Yayyyy!" squeals Ikuno. "It's settled then, you're coming to my house for break."

Wait, didn't I say I'd think about it?!

"Way to go, lover boy," says the snickering girl to my side.

"Better wear your best suit to impress her parents." At the other end of the table Akio pretends to be adjusting a bowtie.

"You guys are the worst," I joke as I join in with their laughter.

—-

*BZZ* *BZZ*

Ah a text from Ikuno, she must have called her parents.

[Just called my parents, they said you can come. Better start packing!]

[Doesn't take me that long to pack lol]

[What do you only have a few outfits or something?]z

[Yeah pretty much.] I don't see why it's that surprising.

[I'll be right over.] Oh cool she's coming over-wait what?!

I try calling her and get no answer. Oh well, not like I'm not happy for her to come over, just a bit unexpected. I should try to tidy up my room a bit before she gets here though.

First I walk over to the nightstand and throw the pill bottles into the drawer leaving just the alarm clock atop. Looking around the room there isn't really much to clean up other than a few articles of clothing laying about. I quickly round up the clothes and throw them in my hamper. I sit down at my desk to continue studying while I wait for Ikuno to make her way over.

Just a couple minutes pass when I hear a knock at my door. "Come in."

"So what is this about having only a few outfits?"

Before I can even turn around I hear my closet door fly open and some shuffling around. I get up out of my chair and walk over to the closet.

"Where do you keep the rest of your clothes? Oh I know!" She lightly pushes me to the side and starts looking under the bed.

"There's nothing under there. Other than my dirty clothes everything is in my closet."

"Okay, even though there's no clothes, I was at least expecting _something_ to be under the bed." She looks at me knowingly then starts looking around the room some more. "I know I said this last time, but c'mon it's just too bland."

"It's not like there's nothing, I have stuff… and things."

Ikuno looks around the room again.

"Well you have an alarm clock, wonder what's in the drawer," she says teasingly reaching her hand out.

I grab her hand to stop her. "Nothing! Nothing! There's nothing interesting in there!."

"I knew you had that sort of thing." She makes a scrunched up face before commenting, "Gross."

I don't actually have any dirty mags in there, but I still haven't shown her all the pills I take and I'm really not sure I'm really ready to.

"So, what's wrong with my clothes anyway?"

Ikuno's attention is immediately turned away from my nightstand and back to the closet. Crisis averted. She walks by me back to closet and turns to me.

"So this is really it?" she questions her hand gesturing to the clothes in my closet.

I nod.

"This is _terrible_. You barely have anything."

"It's enough to last me a little over a week before laundry." I shrug.

"That's not enough!" She glares at me. "Plus you don't have any variety"

"What do you mean? I have a few different outfits."

"Hisao, you have _multiple_ sweater vests. One is bad enough, but you have _multiple_."

"Yeah but they're in different colors for variety."

Ikuno stares at me mouth agape in shock. "You're being serious aren't you?"

I nod weakly as I reply, "Yeah, of course."

"That's _not_ variety. Variety is having different styles of clothes for different occasions."

"Sweater vests work for every occasion, that's why I have—"

"No." She cuts me off. "Just no."

"But—"

"No."

"...Okay."

"Good so we agree you need more variety then?"

"Yes?"

"Right answer." She gives me a bright smile. She walks over to my side and links our arms together. "You know what that means, right?"

I sigh slightly before responding, "Shopping?"

"Yup!" Her arm squeezes mine tightly. Well I guess there are worse things in the world than shopping with your pretty girlfriend. "We can go when we get back to Iwata."

"Alright so what am I packing an the interim?"

She unlinks our arms and gives me a serious link. "Everything that isn't a sweater vest."

I laugh in response. "Alright fine."

I give her a hug and hold her tight. This feels really nice and really relaxing. I could probably just melt here.

"Hey," she breaks the silence, "since I helped you pack, will you help me?"

I look down at her and I can see she's slightly blushing. "Sure I'll help." I reach up with one hand and rub her head. She pulls away from the hug and pouts at me. "C'mon, you know you like it."

"Only a little," she says quietly.

I reach up and rub her head once more. "So you want to go pack now?" I glance at the clock. "We still have time before curfew."

"Sure," she says with a smile.

Her hand reaches out for mine, and we walk out the door together. We make our way out of the men's dorm and into the women's dorm. I've never actually been over to her room before, or even in the women's dorm... I feel so out of place.

"Hey did you call your parents before I came over to let them know?"

"No I didn't, I was actually trying to clean up before you came over."

"Aw that's sweet, but you need to call your parents."

"But I don't—"

"No buts. You know how I feel about this."

We round the corner of a hallway.

"Yeah yeah, I will when I get a chance."

We come to a stop outside one of the rooms.

"Good 'cause you have a chance right now." She opens the door to her room and starts to step in. She turns around to give me a stern look. "Call them before we start," she pauses before adding, "please?"

"Yes ma'am!" I give her a half-hearted salute.

"Hah. Hah." She rolls her eyes and continues into her room. I follow her and shut the door behind us. "You can sit wherever you want, the bed is pretty comfy though, I got one of those fluffer topper pads."

I take a sit on the bed and Ikuno joins me sitting right up against me. She turns and looks at me expectantly.

"Ah, right." I pull my phone out of my pocket and select my mom's number. It rings a few times before she picks up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mom. How are you?"

"I'm fine, and yourself?"

"I'm doing alright. Ikuno's parents said I can stay with them for break is that still alright with you?"

"Yes that's fine, your father and I will be working for most of your break anyways."

"Thank you, I will see you soon."

"Be safe. See you soon."

"I will. Bye."

"Bye."

A silence took over the room as I hung up.

"There I called them, they're okay with it."

Ikuno had a somewhat sad look on her face before asking, "Are all your phone calls like that?"

I think for a brief moment. "No, some are shorter," I say frankly.

"Wha—How is that possible?"

"Well it usually ends after we both say we're fine."

"Why even call at that point?"

I turn and give her a blank stare. "You see what I mean then?"

"Yeah I guess I get your point, but I still think it's worth trying. At least they call to see how you're doing right?"

"Sort of… I feel like they do it out of a sense of duty rather than actually caring. It feels like I died to them when I ended up in the hospital." I pause remembering my time in the hospital. "Our relationship just hasn't been the same since."

I've grown used to my parents but remembering how things used to be I end up sadly staring at the opposite wall.

"I'm sorry Hisao," she says as she rubs my arm leaning her head on my shoulder. "I don't mean to push you so hard to talk with your parents but family is important to me."

"I know, and family should be important. But… it's just hard when you have the 'family' I do."

Another silence ensues. I hate moments like this.

"You wanna see me undress?"

Immediately I perk up and look at Ikuno.

"I knew that'd get your attention." She chuckles. "But I was kidding, sort of."

"Sort of?"

"Well you can't see me undress but—"

"So, no," I say teasingly.

She gives me a dirty look for interrupting before continuing, "but, you can help me pick out a few shirts to take home!"

"Just a few?" 

"Well yeah, I still have clothes back home, silly, so I don't have to take home that many."

"Fair enough, let's get started." I motion towards her closet.

Ikuno picks out some shirts from her closet and lay them out on the bed.

"Alright we have to pick out just 5 or 6 shirts." I quickly start to tally how many she picked out, but give up after 20. "How about you pick some out for me and I'll try them on for you and we can decide from there."

I pick out a few shirts that I like and put them to the side for Ikuno.

"These are your choices?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Uhm… Yes?"

She sighs. "Why am I not surprised?"

"What did I do?!"

"Oh nothing… You just happened to pick the most _boring_ shirts possible." She sticks her tongue out at me.

"Should I pick out some new ones?"

"Oh no, _these_ are the ones _you_ specifically chose," she says sarcastically. Wow, harsh.

"Alright, alright. I'll pick out some that I think suits you more."

"That's more like it!" she cheers.

Hmm. Now what do I know about Ikuno? Well she's diabetic—she even has a shirt about it. Has two siblings. Not so great with science. Okay, well that doesn't help with picking out a shirt. Think Hisao, think. How about I match it to her personality? Yeah that might work. Alright well she's a very bright and energetic, maybe I could go with bright colors.

"Hisao?" I hear a faint voice.

"Shhh." I try to silence the voice so I can think.

"Did you just shush me?"

"Yes. Shhh."

Where was I? Right, she's bright and energetic, so bright colors could work. As for design… Wait did I just shush Ikuno? Crap.

I come out of my thoughts only to be face-to-face with a grim looking Ikuno.

"Hisao…," she says quite ominously.

I gulp. "Yes?"

"Were you too caught up in your own head that you blacked out the world around you again?"

"Yes," I respond reluctantly.

 _Thwack_. Ikuno flicks me on the forehead.

"Ouch," I verbalize involuntarily. "Yeah I deserve that."

"You deserve more than that if you ask me." She puffs out her cheeks at me.

"Well thanks for holding back, I guess," I say as I chuckle.

"Hmph." She flicks my arm.

I grab my arm where she flicked it and pretend to be injured.

"Oh you're fine," she sasses me. "So did all that _precious_ thought help?"

"As a matter of fact it did," I sass back. "I think I can pick out some better shirts."

"Is that so? Please, be my guest." She motions back towards the bed.

Her trying to be sassy is so adorable. She catches me looking at her and she puffs out her cheeks pretending to still be mad at me. I reach out and pinch her cheek.

"Hisao!" she cries.

"Sorry you just looked too adorable."

"You're so mean!"

"Yeah I'm _so_ terrible for thinking my girlfriend is adorable."

"Yup!" she agrees.

I roll my eyes and turn my attention back to the shirts on the bed. I pick out a few new ones, but this time I go for bright pretty colors as well as a couple shirts that express her interests. I also pick one graphic tee that I see her wearing sometimes outside of school. I hand these over to Ikuno for her inspection.

"Huh," she mutters.

Oh, no. "Did I mess up again?"

"No, actually you did really good. I guess that deep thought stuff really works for you." She looks over the shirts once more. "I guess I take back that flick."

"Okay you can have it back." I reach up to flick her forehead but her glare stops me. "Or not." I drop my hand back down to my side.

"Good choice." She perks back up. "Now turn around."

"What?"

"I said I was going to try them on for you remember?"

"You don't have to do that for me."

"I'm not, I'm doing it for me. I have to try them on with some of the pants I want to bring home to see how they look. You just happen to be here and get to see them."

"Wow I feel so special."

"You should!" Her smile is bright as ever. "Now turn around."

"Fine." I turn around and wait until I'm told it's safe to look.

"Don't be tempted to turn around, okay?" I hear her call out.

"Don't worry, I won't be," I call back.

"Excuse me?"

"What? I said I won't be!"

"You should be a little tempted, right? I'm your girlfriend after all!"

"Okay fine, I'll admit it is tempting."

"Good! But don't turn around!"

"I won't, don't worry."

After another minute I'm told I can look. I turn around and find Ikuno in one of the shirts I picked out and a pair of jeans.

"So… How does it look?"

"I like it, it suits you."

"Ya think?" she asks while looking herself over in the mirror.

"Definitely."

She smiles at me, happy with my assessment and has me spin around again.

Waiting patiently I start to look around the desk. She's not very organized—there are papers everywhere. As I'm looking around a small lit surface catches my eye. Hmm, a mirror. I look more directly at it and see it's pointed almost directly at me. At the very edge of the mirrors surface I see a peachy color. That must be Ikuno! I lean over to the side slowly to get a better angle of her. Slowly… further… further… Oh crap she's facing this way.

"Hisao, what are you doing?"

Mildly panicked I put my arms over my head and reply, "stretching." I stretch all the way to the left then all the way to the right to try and pass it off.

"Weirdo."

Good, she bought it. That was close. Why was I even doing that? I promised I wouldn't. I guess I really am tempted after all.

"Well turn around weirdo, time for another one," she calls, pulling me from my thoughts. "What do you think?" She twirls around to show me the whole outfit.

She looks _good_. That colorful top really suits her and accentuates her figures. The jeans are classic, but they look really good on her.

"Well?"

"Oh uh…" I blush realizing I've just been staring at her body. I move my eyes up to her face and make eye contact before continuing. "It looks really good on you. That shirt was definitely the right pick."

She looks herself over once more. "You know, I think you're right." Her eyes meet mine and she smiles. "Okay turn back around, there's just one more I need to try on."

I oblige and spin around back to the desk. Looking over the papers again, I imagine Ikuno doing her homework, the papers strewn around her disorganised desk. It's probably a frantic mess of throwing papers around until you find the right one, probably like how I deal with my clothes most of the time.

My eyes glance over to the mirror. It's tempting. _Very_ tempting… But I shouldn't, she'd be super mad and ...it would be wrong, right?... So yeah, lots of papers on her desk. Looks like she doodles a lot in the margins. Huh, actually I think this one looks like me. Wait a second, she labelled it as me! Does my hair really look that bad? I reach out and grab the mirror and hold it close to my face. Comparing the doodle to my face and hair, it's actually pretty accurate.

Again, out of the corner of my eye I notice Ikuno's skin. I turn the mirror ever so slightly that direction while still holding the doodle in my other hand. Slowly, I start to see her back and brastrap. I can feel my grip on the mirror get more unsteady. She's already wearing jeans but she's looking them over in the mirror and holding the shirt in hand. I can very clearly see her figure like this. Unconsciously I end up dropping the doodle which falls to the floor, making weird crinkling sounds as it unceremoniously falls to the floor. In the mirror I see Ikuno turn to see what's happening. We make eye contact through the mirror and both our eyes go wide. I quickly put the mirror back on the desk and sit completely erect facing forward.

"HISAO!" she bellows from behind me. "Were you just peeping on me?!" I can hear some shuffling then her footsteps getting closer. "Hisaoooo," she repeats.

"N-no, I was trying to compare your doodle to myself and then I saw you out of the corner of my eye and then my hand just starting moving and—"

"Pervert!" She flicks the back of my head.

"I'm really sorry! I didn't mean too!"

"You promised you wouldn't look!"

"To be fair, I promised I wouldn't turn around, not that I wouldn't look." She pinches my arm. "Ouch!"

"Not funny! Hmph!" I turn around and look at Ikuno. Her cheeks are so puffed out she could give a blowfish a run for its money and they're also about as red as the shirt she put on.

"I'm sorry! It was way more tempting than I thought!"

She looks away bashfully before asking, "It was?" I didn't know cheeks could get that red.

"Yeah it really was, but I'm sorry! It was wrong and I shouldn't have done it!"

"You're right you shouldn't have…," she trails off still looking away.

"Ikuno?"

"Yeah?" She turns her head back towards me. When our eyes meet she puffs out her cheeks again at me.

"You're just too cute, I couldn't handle it." I reach my finger out and poke her cheek so the air escapes. She swats my hand away and scrunches her face up at me. "I was comparing the doodle to my own face and kinda got mesmerized by you." I rub the back of my neck in embarrassment.

"Really?" She looks up at me with bright eyes. She sure can brighten up quick.

"Yeah, really."

Quickly she walks back over to the mirror and looks over the outfit again. "Yup, I like this one," she pauses before continuing, "and I already know you do too!" She sticks her tongue out at me.

"Well I can't deny that." I chuckle.

Ikuno walks back over to me and flicks my forehead. "But you're still a jerk."

"Yeah, but I'm you're jerk," I retort.

Ikuno rolls her eyes back so hard I see the whites of the _back_ of her eyes. Then she reaches up to massage her left temple with her hand. I didn't know eyes could roll like that, it can't be healthy.

"Hisao, that was so corny I got a headache."

"You're welcome!" I wrap her up in a side hug.

"It's a good thing you're cute," she chides.

I chuckle a bit. "I guess you're right." I glance over at the clock and see that we're getting close to curfew. "Hey I hate to cut this short, but it's almost curfew."

Ikuno looks over and double checks the clock. "Aw, you're right." She pulls me turning my side hug to a full hug. "Well we leave in a couple days, so I'm glad we did this now."

"Me too."

We let silence fall over us as we hug. I'm the first to break the silence. "Goodnight."

She waits again before responding, "Goodnight." Slowly her head reaches up to mine for a brief kiss.

Once our lips pull apart she lets go of me and I back up to the door. She gives me a light wave that I return before slipping out the door.


	2. Part 2

"Hisaoooo." I wake up to being poked in the face. "Hisaoooo wake up, we're pulling in to Tokyo Station."

I groggily sit up, pulling my head off of Ikuno's shoulder.

"Sleep well?"

"Yeah I guess." I nod weakly. "I'm not used to getting up that early."

"5am isn't really that early." I give her a dead stare in response. "Okay, okay, I get it."

My brain starts to wake up as we pull into the station, Ikuno lightly drags me off the train and into the station.

"How long do we have?"

"Just 10 minutes."

"Great, enough time to get some coffee." I nod my head towards a small coffee shop. "It'll be my treat," I say with a wink.

"I'm not really a big coffee person, but it looks like they have hot chocolate." She points at the menu board.

"Should the diabetic really be having hot chocolate?" I give her a playful smirk.

She raises her eyebrows before returning my smirk. "Should the guy with the heart problem really be having coffee?"

"Well… I won't tell if you won't."

"Deal!" She gives me a thumbs up and winks… It's both adorable and dorky.

There's not much of a line at the coffee shop, so we quickly make our purchases and head to our next train. By the time we make it back to the platform our train to Iwata is ready for boarding. We board and sit in silence drinking our hot drinks; they feel so good this time of year. This time Ikuno leans her head on my shoulder.

"Tired after all?" I ask.

She doesn't answer, a pensive expression coloring her face.

"Diabetes isn't that bad y'know?"

"Huh?" Her sudden seriousness takes me off guard. "Why are you saying that all of a sudden?"

"As long as I keep track of what I'm having and bolus properly and stuff, I can pretty much have whatever I want, even hot chocolate." She turns her head to look up at me before continuing. "I know you were joking, but I don't want you to worry about me."

Bolus? Is that the thing with her pump?

"Well I can't help if I worry about you, I care about you."

"I care about you too, but I still don't want you to worry."

"I'll try not to. But it goes both ways!." She gives me a questioning look. "My bad heart doesn't mean I can't have any caffeine but I definitely shouldn't chug energy drinks."

"That's not good for anyone," she says wrinkling her nose. "I better not catch you drinking an energy drink _ever_."

"Haha don't worry, I don't have a death wish or anything."

"I don't even want to think about that." She says burying her face into my shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't joke like that. I really don't want to worry you, I won't do anything dumb, I promise."

"I'm holding you to that."

"Good, now just go to sleep." Would be a good way to clear up the mood anyways.

"Nooo I'm not tired." Jeez she can be such a kid, but she's too cute for me to complain about. "But you're so comfy and warm."

"Give in to the warmth, let it take you." I reach out and pet her head. Huh, feels like she's already asleep. Well I might as well enjoy this as much as I can. I peacefully relax and sip my coffee the rest of the way to Iwata.

—-

"Ikuno, wake up we're coming into Iwata." I nudge her using my shoulder. Slowly she comes to.

"We're here already?"

"Yeah you slept the whole time."

"It felt nice." She rubs her cheek on my shoulder. Seems like she's going to go back to sleep.

"You said some interesting things while you were sleeping you know."

Ikuno immediately snaps up and looks at me. "What kinds of things?"

I give her a sly smile, but can't keep up the charade. "Nothing actually, but you're awake now, right?"

She deflates at my words. "You're the worst." Looking at the window she then follows up, "Oh hey we _are_ here."

"Did you think I was lying?"

"...Maybe." She give me an innocent smile. "Well be ready to get off, we have to catch the bus quickly."

"Got it," I say as I secure our bags. "Let's do this."

After the train pulls in, we make our way through the station and out to the nearby bus stop and hop on.

"Whew that was close."

"How long of a ride is it?"

"Hmm I think with the stops it's about 20 minutes."

"Well that's not too bad."

"Yeah it'll go by quick and I can point out some places on the way over."

The bus sets off quick, and just as quickly Ikuno starts pointing out key points in town. There are a lot of interesting speciality shops around, and from her knowledge of them she must frequent them. There's also a few tennis clubs in the area, which I find a bit odd. Maybe she and her family play since it's so accessible, though I didn't ask her..

"This is our stop," Ikuno says from my side. Immediately I start looking around to guess which hours is hers. "My house is a couple blocks from here, but this is the closest stop." She must have noticed me looking around.

"Oh okay, lead the way." I motion my arm out forward and Ikuno leads us off the bus and headed down the sidewalk.

One block down we make a right and Ikuno points out a friend's house. We continue on another block and she point out her house up ahead. It looks pretty big and rather fancy. Well not super fancy, but it looks nice.

We approach her house and Ikuno says, "Well this is it, are you ready?"

I shrug, attempting nonchalance. "Sure, I guess."

"Here we go." Ikuno gives me a mischievous grin before she knocks on the door a couple of times before opening it and stepping inside.

Once inside, we're greeted by a small figure. "Onee-chan!" That must be Ikuno's little sister. She's pretty short, I think Ikuno said she was only 9 or 10 so I guess that makes sense for her age.

"Chika!" Ikuno bends down and wraps her little sister in a hug. She stands back up and I get a closer look at Chika. She has the same brown hair as Ikuno and big eyes to match. Yup, she's absolutely adorable. "Chika, this is my boyfriend Hisao. Hisao, this is Chika."

Seemingly shy, Chika moves closer to Ikuno before saying "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too Chika-chan, you're so polite."

"Th-Thank you." She turns her head up to look at Ikuno. "Mom said to bring you to the kitchen for breakfast when you got here."

"Thanks Chika! Hisao, let's put our bags over here by the closet for now."

"Oh, okay." I pick up both our bags and move them over to in front of the closet door. I follow Ikuno back to the back of the house into the kitchen.

"Ah you must be Hisao!" I hear from a voice on the opposite end of the table. "I'm Ikuno's mother Korona Komaki."

I've been expecting this the whole time, but the sight of her mother instantly brings back my nerves. I bow and greet her. "Hello Mrs. Komaki, it is nice to meet you."

I hear her chuckle. "No need to bow, formalities like that are boring." Why does that remind me of Ikuno? She turns to Ikuno before saying, "I like him already."

"Hisao, you're such a dork."

What do I even say to that? I laugh nervously.

"Well I hate to break your fun silence," starts Mrs. Komaki, "but breakfast is ready." I look at the table and see she already has plates for everyone out. "Normally I eat with my husband but I figured today was a special occasion." She gives me a beaming smile. "Now let's sit and eat."

Without hesitation both Ikuno and Chika sit down and I follow quickly to not be awkwardly standing by myself. Everyone starts eating immediately and I do too. Mrs. Komaki prepared a nice light meal with eggs, rice and some miso. It's actually quite delicious.

"So how was the trip in?" I hear from across the table.

I glance at Ikuno and she speaks up immediately. "It was long and boring."

"Oh nothing happened?"

"Not really… although…" Ikuno gives me a sidelong glance. " _Someone_ isn't used to getting up that early and slept almost all the way to Tokyo."

I can hear and see both of them laugh. Chika-chan is just looking on with curiosity. I should payback Ikuno for that.

"At least I didn't sleep from Tokyo to Iwata." I give Ikuno a teasing look she sticks her tongue out at me.

"Did you get tired, Ikuno?" questions her mom.

Immediately Ikuno starts to blush remembering what happened. "Well no…"

I decide to fill in the rest for her. "She leaned her head on my shoulder and said it was 'comfy'."

"Hisao!" Ikuno tried to scold me.

"Aw that's adorable, Ikuno-chan!" her mom calls out.

"Mooom!" Apparently Ikuno doesn't love being called Ikuno-chan. I can

I hear some laughter from my other side and turn to see Chika-chan happily laughing at her older sister and eating breakfast. What a good girl.

"Hisao, did anything else _interesting_ happen on your trip?" Ikuno's mom stares directly at me as she says it. I can feel Ikuno's piercing gaze on the side of my face. It's not like anything really happened though.

"Not really ma'am, it was just a normal trip."

"Please don't call me ma'am," she says with a chuckle.

"Sorry." She doesn't really seem upset, but I'd rather be overly polite than not enough.

"It's fine, I just don't like feeling so old." She give me a soft smile. "Anything else happen on the way here?"

"Ikuno pointed out some spots around town while we were on the bus, that's probably the most eventful part of the trip."

"Well that does sound like a boring trip after all."

"Hey that's mean!" cries Ikuno.

Everyone else at the table shares a laugh at her expense. As the laughter dies down, I notice some photos on the wall across from me.

"Ikuno, are those pictures of you and Chika?" I nod toward the frames.

Ikuno follows my line of sight to the photos across from me. "Yeah they are! Wasn't I a cute kid?" She points at the top picture which shows a young Ikuno giving a huge grin—minus a couple teeth—really close to the camera.

"Yeah you really were." I pause for dramatic effect. "What happ—"

"What happened?" Mrs. Komaki cuts me off, stealing my line. She gives me a quick grin from across the table. That was on purpose!

"Hey! I'm still cute, right, Hisao?" Ikuno looks my way with her cheeks at about half puff. I see Mrs. Komaki out of the corner of my eye looking at me expectantly. Did she set this up?

"Yeah, of course. You got cuter actually!" I feel Mrs. Komaki's gaze as I say this, causing my cheeks to flush.

Ikuno's puffed cheeks turns to a smile. "See!" she says to her mother.

Her mom holds her hands up feigning defeat. "I guess you're right." She pauses before teasing her. "Maybe I should hang up some more recent pictures of you then." Hmm new pictures? Now there's an idea.

"That'd be embarrassing," chirps Ikuno almost immediately.

"But Ikuno-chan, Hisao says you're even cuter now!"

Mrs. Komaki and Chika both laugh as Ikuno and I turn into human tomatoes and turn our attention to our food. We finish up the rest of our meal with idle chatter and put dishes in the sink, Mrs. Komaki calls out to us.

"Do you two need to go anywhere? I have to run errands anyways and can drop you off somewhere."

"I still have some Christmas shopping to do," mutters Ikuno in thought.

"Me too." I think I already know what to get her Mom, but I'll have to shop for everyone else.

"Mom, can you drop us off at the mall? That'll probably be the easiest option for us."

"Sure thing," she says with a smile. "Are you both ready, I have to go soon."

"We should probably take our bags upstairs," I direct to Ikuno.

"Don't worry about that," Mrs. Komaki interjects, "you can take care of them afterwards."

I turn to Ikuno to get her thoughts and she just shrugs. "Alright, I guess we're ready."

"Oh by the way, would you guys mind taking Chika along? I don't want to leave her home alone, plus I'm sure she missed her big sister."

Please no. I think she's a nice polite girl and everything, but how am I supposed to interact with a kid? I've never really done it before and it just feels so awkward, especially since we just met and barely spoke to one another.

"That's okay, right, Hisao?" I turn to see Ikuno's face. She's giving me the puppy dog pout with sparkling eyes. I could never turn down a face like that. Her face is so cute it could probably stop traffic.

Dammit, she wins. "Of course that's fine, right, Chika-chan?" I turn to Chika who responds with a small but shy nod.

"Alright everyone, grab your jackets and head to the car."


	3. Part 3

"Wow", is all I can think to say as we enter the massive building.

"Well it _is_ a mall after all," Ikuno counters sarcastically, twirling her arms around her to accentuate the grandiose space before us.

I give her an unamused glare. "Just 'cause I don't go to them doesn't mean I don't know what they are." Turning my head back to the vast openness in front of me, I continue, "I just usually don't go in them."

"Who do you have to get gifts for anyways?" she asks me.

"Well this trip was last minute so… Pretty much everyone" I chuckle.

"Oh right…," she says.

"What about you?"

"Uhm… Everyone _including_ you." She gives me the innocent act with her eyes twinkling. God she's cute. I hide a smile knowing I already got her the perfect gift.

I feign a gasp before responding, "I'm so hurt." I follow it up with sniffling sounds and pretending to wipe away tears.

"Oh you'll get over it." She lightly pushes me.

"Yeah, you're probably right," I say with a laugh.

"So where do you want to go first?"

"Well seeing as I've never been to this mall, I figure I'm just along for the ride until I see something that catches my attention."

"So in other words, you're hopeless."

"Yup!" I give her a thumbs up.

She rolls her eyes at me and turns to Chika. "Chika do you want to help me shop for Mom and Dad?"

Chika nods lightly in response.

"Do you have any ideas for them?"

"Uhm…" Chika stops to think for a moment, then enthusiastically beams with an idea, "Dad said his work shoes are wearing out."

Ikuno scrunches her nose in thought. It's super cute. "Yeah I guess that could work, but that's a pretty boring gift."

Chika looks sad that her idea was shot down so quickly. She's super cute too, what is it with this family? I should try to cheer her up. "I actually think that's a good idea," I say turning towards Chika.

"Huh?" I hear from a confused Ikuno.

"I think it's really thoughtful and something he will like. I wouldn't call that boring."

"I didn't know you could be so sentimental," says Ikuno rather frankly.

"I'm not heartless!" I pause before continuing, "Just a little irregular," I force a chuckle.

It still feels weird to me to try and joke about my condition, but that's the best way to get over it right? Maybe dark humor just isn't for me. Ikuno gives me a concerned look. She's eerily good at reading me. Either that or my face is like a large print book. Maybe it's both.

"Well either way, you're probably right. Let's head to the shoe store."

Ikuno starts to take off, holding Chika's hand tightly behind her, while I try to follow along at her side weaving through the oncoming crowds. This mall is pretty busy and lively, people of all ages are here although it feels like it's more of people our age.

Just as I get into the rhythm of the crowd,I hear an "Ikuno!" from somewhere in the mass of people in front of us. Ikuno comes to a dead stop with Chika in hand and I follow suit. I can see Ikuno peering ahead moving her head around like a bouncy ball stuck in a small box, trying to see who called her name. Eventually three girls emerge from the crowd and approach Ikuno directly.

"Ikuno, it's really you!" Ikuno drops Chika's hand and the four girls share an awkward group hug. I say it's awkward but they don't seem to mind. "It's been so long," she continues, "it's really good to see you! And you too Chika!" She peers down at Chika.

Chika offers a brief wave before moving away from them. A couple of "Aw"s can be heard from the girls as she goes. She starts walking towards me and ends up next to me, hiding behind me slightly. I thought she was shy and afraid of me, how did it end up like this? Not knowing what to do, I put my hand on her head and ruffle her hair to try and comfort her.

I look up from Chika and see that the girls' eyes have followed her since she moved away, which of course has led to me, and now they're all staring at me. Thanks, Chika.

"Ikuno, who's that?" asks the brunette, pointing in my direction. You don't have to point, I'm a person not a thing. "He's kinda cute."

I feel my face grow red, and I subconsciously rub the back of my neck.

"I know, right?" Ikuno responds enthusiastically.

"So who _is_ he?" the girl asks with more force.

"Oh that's my boyfriend, Hisao," she says, trying to act cool.

All eyes snap back to Ikuno. "Ikuno has a boyfriend?!" shouts the black-haired girl mindlessly.

"Well it's not her brother," responds the one to her side.

"I don't believe it," chimes in the redhead.

"Hey!" interrupts Ikuno. "Why do you say it like that?!"

"Just 'cause," says the black-haired girl with a smile.

"Ugh I shouldn't have stopped to talk to you guys." Ikuno shakes her head with a smile.

"Oh come on, you know we don't mean it." The girl with brown hair like Ikuno's speaks up. "So where'd you meet him anyways, school?"

Oh crap, they probably know about Ikuno's condition and why she went away to school. They also probably know what that school is all about, so if Ikuno confirms we met at school they'll wonder what's wrong with me. I idly reach up and touch my scar. I had a hard enough time telling our friend group and Ikuno herself, and even _they_ don't even know the full details of it. I don't want to go around telling people I don't know. Hopefully she just ignores it.

"Yeah he's in my class." One of the girls gives a little "ooo" in response.

Well that plan is shot, let's just change the topic so they don't have a chance to wonder about—

"So why didn't you guys hook up before this year then?" asks the redhead quite innocently.

Uh, what? I guess I'm not the only one taken aback by her bluntness as her friends quickly turn their heads her way.

"Well first," starts Ikuno, "this isn't a hookup."

The redhead's eyes go wide at this statement. "T-That's not what I meant!" She looks down and away out of embarrassment.

"Ooo so it's love," teases the black-haired girl. Ikuno and I both blush. But Ikuno seems to be doing a better job at taking it in stride.

"We uh… we aren't quite there yet." Ikuno glances at me after saying that, but I'm too embarrassed to even move. "But," she continues, "we didn't _date_ before because he just transferred this year."

Way to go Ikuno, that'll _definitely_ get them to not wonder about me. I actively hold myself back from reaching for my scar; that's it Hisao, don't want to give it away.

"Oh that makes sense," says the redhead. "So when _did_ you start dating then?"

"Almost a month ago I think?" Ikuno looks at me and I nod to confirm. "But we became friends shortly after he transferred in."

"Aww that's cute, from friends to lovers," the girl replies. My face gets even redder.

"What are you guys doing at the mall? A date?" asks the nosy black-haired girl.

Ikuno chuckles. "No, just Christmas shopping."

"Hey us too!" The black-haired girl seems oddly fired up about Christmas shopping.

"Although we've already finished." The redhead lifts up the bushel of bags in her hand. Why is she carrying them all anyways? She must've lost a bet.

"And, we were on the way to the car," adds the brunette, looking at her watch to confirm, "my mom is here to pick us up."

"Aww well don't let me hold you guys," my girlfriend says cheerily.

"It was good to see you again. We'll have to catch up at some point while you're home." The brunette gives her a smile.

"Yeah definitely," Ikuno says with a grin.

The four share a quick parting hug. Ikuno's friends turn toward me and Chika after releasing her.

"It was nice meeting you Hisao," says the redhead while waving.

The other two join in with little waves of their own.

"Uh nice meeting you all too." I give a quick wave back. Although I wouldn't call it really meeting since I never learned their names.

"Text me?" The black-haired girl says to Ikuno as they start to turn towards the exit.

"Of course."

"Bye!" all four of them say simultaneously as the girls walk away with a wave. I take a deep breath. Man I thought that would never end.

Ikuno turns back to me, "Sorry about that, those were some of my friends from middle school. Ready to keep going?"

"Yeah, sure." And with that we start walking towards the shoe store again.

That wasn't fun. I didn't even really talk to them; didn't learn their names. They know I'm at a school for people with medical issues so they're probably wondering about it. To top it off, Ikuno told them I just transferred this year so they know it had to be something sudden. I really wish she hadn't said that, I don't want to give people any more information about my condition than they need.

Before I even notice we arrive at the shoe store. We make our way to the back quickly and pick out a pair of work shoes for Ikuno's father—with Chika's help of course. The line at the register goes by quickly and we exit back into the open center of the mall.

"Alright what's next?" Ikuno asks me.

"Well I have an idea for your parents." Ikuno gives me a questioning look and I point towards a sign across the way.

"Huh, that's not half bad, Hisao."

The three of us make our way over to the sign and I take a closer look.

"Hey that's a pretty good deal," I think aloud.

"Yeah and it's a cute idea too. Are you sure _you_ came up with it?"

I roll my eyes at her and she gives me a big grin.

"What's the idea?" says a voice from below-probably Chika.

Ikuno giggles, picking Chika up so she can see into the store window. Inside is a wall stocked full of cameras. Some are old fashioned and clearly just for decoration, but there are a few more modern ones on tripods to be used. On the other side is a large greenscreen with lights on either side. There's also a box with various props for pictures.

It doesn't take long for my idea to click, and immediately Chika gets excited. Ikuno puts her back down beside us and we make our way into the store.

As we enter, an older gentleman—likely the owner—greets us with a polite bow.

"How can I help you today?"

"We'd like some pictures done, I saw the sign outside say you have a special for a set of three." I gesture towards the sign outside the store.

"No problem," he steps out from behind the counter before continuing, "follow me".

He makes his way across the store towards the greenscreen with the three of us in tow.

"One of each of you, I'm guessing?" He's fiddling with the camera as he asks us this.

"Actually it'll be the two of them." I wave my arm in Ikuno and Chika's direction. "I'm getting it as a gift for their parents."

The man turns his head and gives me a bright smile. "That's a lovely gift, very thoughtful."

I can't help but return his smile knowing I made the right call—especially on such short notice.

Before long the man has everything set up, including a stool for Chika to sit on. The girls make their way in front of the greenscreen and give their best smiles.

There's a click and a flash.

"That looks good." The man turns the preview screen towards me to take a look. Aww they look great! I nod in satisfaction.

"Alright next one, how about a silly one?" Chika and Ikuno look at each other then smile and nod knowingly. Why do I feel they're up to something?

They turn back to face the camera and make identical faces. Tongues out. Eyes crossed. Heads tilted. What a couple of goofballs.

Another click and flash.

The man laughs, "now that's a good one!"

Once again I look at the preview screen and man do they look adorable!

"Alright last one, did you guys want to use props?" he asks the ladies. Chika looks over at the box of props with wide eyes.

"Why don't you join us for this one Hisao?" Ikuno gives me an encouraging look. Chika pulls her attention from the props to give me a big smile.

I wave her off before responding, "this is for your parents and I've only met your mom so far."

"C'mon, Hisao, just get in the picture." She starts to pout her lip, trying to charm me. She's cute, it might work.

I shake my head and repeat myself. "I wanted to get your parents pictures of you, not me."

"They've got two of us already! This one can be for me. Please?" She gives me puppy dog eyes to pair with her pout.

Damn, that's cute, but I can resist.

I start to shake my head and see Ikuno nudge Chika with her elbow. They share a look and Ikuno motions towards me with her head slightly. Chika seems to get the idea as she turns to me and gives me the same look with a pout and puppy dog eyes.

Holy crap she's adorable. The combination of their cute expressions causes me to cave.

"Okay okay! You don't have to beg." I respond, moving into the shot. The man seems amused, and waits patiently for me to get into a presentable position.

"Oh of course it works when Chika does it!" she exclaims.

"Well she is adorable," I retort jokingly. She pouts once more and flicks my ear. I just smile in response.

"Ready?" The owner asks, still amused by our banter.

"Wait, hang on just one second." She turns towards me excitedly and tries to pat down my hair. She does this three times, each time a louder groan. "This time it will work!" She pushes down on my tuft of hair with some force and holds it down a few seconds. When she releases my hair stays down. "See it worked." Not a moment after saying that, my hair begins to rise once more slowly but surely. Looking defeated she mumbles "I give up."

"All ready?" asks the man, still smiling.

Ikuno takes a look at my head once more before responding, "ready as we can be, I guess." She furrows her brow in a staring contest with my hair.

"Alright. Three… Two… One…" *flash*

The man turns the screen around for us to see. I think that's a good picture and I usually don't photograph well or, uh, at all really.

"What do you think?" I question Ikuno.

"Your hair is still poofed." she responds flatly.

"Okay, well that's part of this package deal." I motion my hands up and down myself as if showing off a product in one of those commercials.

Ikuno's eyes roll almost out of reflex.

"And other than my hair what do you think?" She takes a second to look at the picture again.

"I like it!" announces Chika surprisingly.

Ikuno looks at Chika with a smile. "Well that settles it!"

The man nods at that decision and goes off to get real prints of the photos.

"You never answered me though, other than the hair, how was it?" Ikuno turns to face me.

"Well…", she brings her finger to her chin and looks up in thought for a moment. "If it _has_ to be a part of the package, I guess it was alright."

I give her an obviously sarcastic smile and say, "gee thanks."

"Oh come on, you looked cute and the picture was nice. Happy?"

"You think I'm cute?" I ask playfully.

She giggles and shakes her head before saying, "you're such a dork."

"But a cute dork right?" I tease.

"The cutest." She gives me a quick kiss as if to confirm it.

"Here you go." The owner returned in the middle of our kiss. We try to play it off but he smiles knowingly. Out of the bag he pulls a dual frame with the two pictures of the girls in them, and another single frame with the three of us. Ikuno and I look them over with approval. He puts them away in the bag and hands it over.

"Thank you," I respond happily, still thinking about how well the pictures came out. I reach into my pocket and give the man the necessary funds.

"Have a nice day!" He waves to us as we exit the store.

"Alright well that takes care of your parents." I say, marking a mental checkbox.

"What are you gunna get for Ikuno?" Chika gives me an innocent look.

"That's a good question, Chika!" Ikuno gives her a knowing look then faces me feigning innocence. Using your adorable sister against me? I'm onto you Komaki…

"Actually Chika," I start, brushing off Ikuno's gaze, "I actually already picked something up for her back in Sendai."

Chika just smiles while Ikuno shoots me a surprised look. "You did?" Her head tilts in confusion.

"Yup, I did." I give her a smug smile.

"Oh…" she trails off, but suddenly perks up, "Oh!" She starts to take off away from us, but as if realizing something immediately comes back. "Would you mind hanging out with Chika for a bit?"

"What?! Why?"

"Just… please for me?"

"I mean… I guess I can."

She knows I've never done much with kids right? She has to know. She looks at Chika who looks me over then nods at Ikuno. Well I guess if she's okay with it I should be too right?

"Great!" She responds with such cheer I don't think she noticed the hesitancy in my voice. "I'll be back, meet here in an hour?"

I respond with a nod and she takes off like a whirlwind.

Now… How am I supposed to entertain this kid for an hour?


End file.
